Q My youngest grandson attends Tullar Elementary School in Neenah, and the crossing guard there was allowing children to cross the intersection kitty-corner. Is that legal? I don't think that's teaching children the correct way to cross.

A Neenah police have given the crossing guard at the intersection of Tullar Road and West Cecil Street the discretion to control traffic and pedestrian movements in the manner she deems safest, and that includes an unconventional diagonal crossing, also known as a pedestrian scramble.

Unique characteristics make that intersection difficult to manage. It's governed by four-way stop signs, but the crossing guard has to watch eight lanes of approaching traffic - two each from the north, south, east and west. The intersection also experiences heavy rush-hour traffic, and many of the motorists are novice drivers traveling to and from Neenah High School.

If a truck is stopped in an inside lane, waiting for children to cross, it can block the view of trailing drivers. Lt. Ty Thompson said the trailing drivers tend to switch to the outside lane, thinking the truck is turning left, and "literally fly up to the intersection, crossing the crosswalk, before coming to a stop."

To avoid such dangerous situations, Thompson said the crossing guard raises her handheld stop sign, enters the intersection and systematically stops all eight lanes of traffic, paying particular attention to any lane that isn't occupied by a vehicle.

"When she feels all is safe, she will have the kids cross all at once, requiring her to only stop traffic one time, instead of twice, doing it the traditional way," Thompson said.

The children are allowed to cross north and south, east and west and diagonally through the middle of the intersection, where the view isn't blocked by other vehicles.

Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson said the police department puts its more experienced crossing guards at the intersection because of the extraordinary circumstances.

"As for the message we are sending the children," Wilkinson said, "we are hoping that they are learning to follow the rules unless a higher authority gives them other direction. A crosswalk tells a child they can cross the street. A crossing guard can order them not to."